The Girl With The Midnight Hair
by maixxy
Summary: Hinata is a young woman who is new to town for the most unfortunate of circumstances. On her way home from work one night she stumbles across a man named Sasuke getting beaten up in a dark alley way and rushes in to help him. Little did she know that this encounter would end up changing her life, and leading her down the messy and glorious path of love.
1. The Beginning

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters in this story.

Any and all reviews will be much appreciated.

 _-thoughts are in italics-_

* * *

 **THE BEGINNING**

* * *

 **'Click, click, click'** Sasuke listened intently as he turned his head, feeling the cold wet gravel beneath his cheek.

 **'Click, click, click, click, click'** it was more hurried now. Sasuke blinked away the milky red substance that blocked his vision, trying to focus on the dark figure running towards him.

"Stop!" He heard a woman's voice shout, "Leave him alone! He's had enough!"

Sasuke grunted as he felt another hard blow to the ribs, pushing him further across the wet gravel. _'Stupid girl'_ he thought to himself, _'she's going to get herself killed or worse'_.

But he was wrong. What Sasuke saw next, well he wasn't even sure he could explain it.

This woman, this small framed woman - She'd stood in front of his body that was sprawled across the dirty road and stood in a protective stance against the 3 men who had been using Sasuke as their personal punching (and kicking) bag.

He couldn't believe it, nor what came next. The way she graciously moved - swift, and quick. She knocked them all down to the ground in a matter of seconds with sharp and precise jabs, looking as though she hadn't broken a sweat or tired herself in the slightest. This woman had guts, and strength.

"Leave!" she shouted, louder than she had shouted earlier, lowering her stance as if she was a lioness protecting her young cubs.

The three men scoffed, picked themselves up off of the ground and spat in the direction of Sasuke. "This isn't over, Uchiha." the main grunt growled, taping the shoulder of one of his mates and heading off in the opposite direction down the dark alley way, leaving with one last dangerous look to the woman's direction.

Sasuke pulled himself into a sitting position on the ground, coughing and spitting out blood onto the wet road.

The woman in front of him watched down the alley way for the shadowed figures to disappear before turning around to tend to him.

She kneeled down to the ground and placed a hand underneath his chin, being as gentle as possible she turned his face up to look at her.

"You look horrible, you need to see a doctor" she said as she reached for her phone in her jacket pocket.

"No!" Sasuke grumbled, turning his head away from her hand on his chin and smacking her wrist away from the phone she was reaching for, "I don't need to see a doctor."

A **'humph'** noise came from the woman, "you shouldn't be so stubborn, you could be seriously hurt!"

"I'm not," he lashed back, placing his hands on the ground on either side of him to pull himself up. "I'm fine." he grumbled, but his words had betrayed him almost as quickly as they had left his lips. A sharp stabbing pain shot through his rib cage, causing him to lurch forward and fall over onto the ground.

The woman sighed, and shook her head. Moving over to him she muttered an apology and reached into his back jean pocket to remove his wallet, she opened it up and looked at his ID before closing it and putting it into her own jacket pocket, not wanting to force it back into his pants. Sasuke didn't live too far from where they were currently, so if he didn't want to go get checked out by a medic, the least she could do was help him get home.

"Yes, you're certainly fine." She said sarcastically, moving closer to him and grabbing his arm on the side he hadn't lurched over in pain on, and draped it over her shoulder. The woman then moved her arm and snaked it around his waist to help pull him up off of the ground, using her own body to support his weight. "Let's get you home Mr. Uchiha."

"I don't need your help," Sasuke spat, his pride sinking as he unwillingly leaned on her short stature "I'm fine!"

Although he had refused her help, she took note that he hadn't struggled to move away from her. "Yes. I know. You're fine" she said with a shake of her head and a small upwards curve on her lips.

It was only during this time that Sasuke was able to look at the woman who had insisted on helping him.

She was short, well not too short, but definitely shorter than him. She had long, waist length black hair that shined with a tinge of blue in the moonlit sky. Her skin was fair and smooth, and Sasuke found himself drawn to her big doe like eyes, they reminded him so much of large white pearls, but with a hint of lilac within them - If Sasuke wasn't such a shut off man, and actually paid attention to women instead of shunning away from them – he would consider her a true exotic, and quite beautiful (in a subtle, natural way) woman.

The rest of the walk (or stumble) back to his property was silent, minus a few grunts of pain from Sasuke's end. He welcomed the lack of conversation, celebrated it really. The last thing Sasuke would want is to be lectured like a child, or questioned as to what he was doing or why it had happened in the first place… or worse, be flirted with and fawned over the entire trip, dragging it out to be one long, and even more painful trip home. No, this girl remained quiet, and did her best to carry him without looking like she was exerting herself in doing so.

Despite the sour look on his face, and the ungrateful attitude that he'd given her, she knew that deep down he was thankful for the help she was providing.

"Do you have your keys?" She asked as they reached the address she had obtained from his ID, slipping her arm away from his waist and leaving him to rest on the chair on the front porch.

Sasuke moved slowly into a more comfortable position on the wooden chair "No, but the other idiot that lives here should be home, he was when I left at least."

"Oh. Alright," the woman mumbled, moving towards the door she looked back at Sasuke before turning to knock loudly three times "hello?" She called out, knocking a further 3 times in case she hadn't been heard the first time "hello?"

No sounds could be heard coming from inside the property what so ever, so she turned to look back at Sasuke as if to ask 'what now?'

Sasuke exhaled loudly and slowly, forcing himself to sit up and point to a pot that was placed on the window sill "Check under that dead plant" he groaned, applying pressure to his side to help ease the pain as he moved.

The woman followed his pointing finger to a dirty and slightly cracked pot sitting on the window, its leaves an ugly olive brown color and collapsed over the edges. This poor withered plant looked like it had never seen a drop of water in its probably short life.

She hesitantly picked up the fragile pot, careful not to break it - but seen nothing underneath. "There isn't a key here…" she mumbled, looking to see if it had fallen on the ground at all without her hearing a clink of a key.

Sasuke almost caught himself with a grin on his face as he watched her moves, "There is, look at the bottom of it."

With a raised eyebrow, she tilted the old pot slightly and lifted it to be just above her eye level to see a small silver key had been stuck with duct tape to the bottom of the pot. She plucked the key off and placed the poor planted plant back onto the window before sliding the key into the lock. It turned with ease, and by the time the woman had swung the door open and flicked on a light to see, Sasuke was already up from the chair she had left him on and was dragging himself across the brick wall for support to make his way through the open door.

"Here," she spoke softly, gripping his arm and helping him through as to ensure he didn't hurt himself any more than he already was "let me help."

' **hn** ' groaned Sasuke, accepting her help inside, and directing her to the lounge room. Once there, he lowered himself onto the lounge.

"Do you own a first aid kit?" asked the woman, looking around the barely lit room, she had only managed to get the entry light on, and it was just barely illuminating into the lounge room for them to see one another and the surroundings of the room.

"Kitchen, it's the door to the left and then under the sink." Sasuke said, slumping down lower into the comfort of the lounge, he watched her disappear slowly into the kitchen with her arms in front of her to avoid bumping into anything that could be hiding in the darkness. He could have told her where the lights switch was, but he enjoyed watching her fumble her way around the foreign surroundings.

After a couple of minutes, her figure reappeared into the lowly lit room. She held in one hand his red first aid kit, and in the other a warm wet cloth.

Moving in front of Sasuke, she placed the kit onto the cushion beside him and lifted his chin with her other hand, using the warm wet cloth to wash the blood and dirt off of his face.

Sasuke wasn't hurt too badly, he had a black eye and a small cut above his eyebrow that seemed to bleed a lot more than you'd expect such a small cut to, as well as some bruised ribs. He certainly looked a lot worse for wear than he really was.

"My name is Hinata, by the way." She mumbled quietly, her pearl eyes focused on the cut above his eyebrow, and her hands being as gentle as possible to not cause him any pain as she finished cleaning the dirt and blood off of his face.

Sasuke was somewhat mesmerized by her, and it seemed that the feeling was mutual, as Hinata had begun to notice that underneath the muck on his face, and the stern look that reminded her of her father – that Sasuke was actually quite a handsome man.

"Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?" Hinata asked as she placed down the now dirty cloth onto the coffee table and reached for the first aid kit, "My medical skills aren't the greatest" she frowned, digging through to find a band aid for his eyebrow. "You could have a cracked rib for all we know."

"I'm fine." Sasuke said, watching her movements carefully.

Hinata smiled faintly and pushed his hair back to place the band aid on ever so gently "so you've told me."

Despite being taken a little back by her beauty and polite, caring ways - Sasuke was rather skeptical as to why she was helping him, and why she was out so late at night by herself in the first place. This girl Hinata had appeared out of nowhere - jumped in and risked her own safety and then insisted on helping him despite him stating time and time again that he didn't need or want her help. He didn't understand it, there had to be a motive behind her actions. Maybe she was one of those weird, crazy stalker girls that followed him everywhere and was using this as her chance to get close to him.

Sasuke was certainly suspicious of her, but at the same time part of him was telling him that she didn't seem like the type to fuss and fawn over a man – but he also hadn't seen her around before, and that also made him curious, as well as cautious of her.

As Sasuke eyed Hinata's every move, the sudden sound of feet were heard tapping loudly on the porch boards out the front, followed by the door being swung open, creaking the hinges.

"Jerk, you home?" a loud questionable voice came from a tall blonde man who appeared in the dim lit doorway. His face was twisted with confusion as he noticed a strange woman standing in front of Sasuke.

"Oh, you've got company." He said with a noticeable grin on his face, flicking on the light switch by the entry to the lounge room to get a better look at their guest.

"O-Oh! H-Hello!" Stuttered Hinata, stepping back from Sasuke, stunned by the sudden appearance of the blonde man at the doorway. "My name is Hinata! Uh..." Hinata chewed her lower lip and looked around as if trying to remember something, "y-your friend!" She pointed to Sasuke on the lounge "it's not what it looks like!" she waved her hands around in front of her as if to say that nothing was going on between them.

The blonde looked at the stunned Hinata, before he turned to look questionably at Sasuke and noticed his messy blood-covered clothes and the white band aid stuck to his head. "Damn Sasuke, what the hell happened to you?" The blonde laughed, heading over to him "you look like a mess."

"Still look better than you, Naruto." Sasuke retorted with a scoff, about to open his mouth to speak again before he was interrupted.

"I'm so sorry!" Hinata gushed, her face now flushed a deep red "He got into a fight trying to stop some guys from harassing me!" she lied, laughing nervously as she pushed her index fingers together and looked down at the ground in shame.

If there was one thing that Hinata knew, it was that men don't like to have their masculinity questioned or challenged in any shape or form, and it was better to lie about what had happened than state that she'd come across Sasuke being beaten, and been the one who scared away harassing men.

Naruto looked between them and nodded, not questioning the story that Hinata had provided to him. It sounded reasonable enough, sure - Sasuke could be a jerk, but he wouldn't simply walk by a women being hassled by some cheap thugs.

"Thanks for helping him get back here then." Naruto said as he sat down on the reclining chair on the opposing side of the coffee table "Must have been scary for you!"

"Y-Yes, and it was no issues helping him back here after that!" Hinata smiled, before something clicked in her mind and her hand flew to her pocket, "o-oh! Sasuke! Your wallet" she mumbled, pulling it out of her jacket and holding it out for Sasuke to take "I promise I didn't take anything from it, I just needed it to get you home." She said quietly as she bit the inside of her cheek.

Naruto's lips curved upwards and a chuckle erupted from them, "I imagine getting him home would be about as difficult as trying to get a sick dog to the vets!"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "Yes, but Mr. Uchiha needed the help, and it was the least I could do after he helped me," she looked at Sasuke's stern face and frowned as she sat down beside him on the couch "I'm sorry for the hassle" she spoke quietly.

"You don't have to apologize to him," Naruto beamed in – interrupting whatever Sasuke was about to say.

Naruto stood up from the chair he was sitting in "How about I make us all a cup of coffee?" he offered, not waiting for anyone to answer him before he left the room.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked as Naruto disappeared from sight. Sasuke watched her face carefully as she focused on the doorway that lead into the kitchen. "You lied, why?" he questioned her.

Hinata's face turned to meet his, her pearly orbs staring into his deep charcoal gaze.

She frowned. "I didn't think it was necessary for him to know how I found you…" she mumbled, her eyes dropping to look at her hands in her lap. "Don't worry though. I don't want anything. You owe me nothing at all."

Sasuke watched her closely, and by the looks of it she didn't seem to be lying, and he was relieved that she hadn't acted proud and embarrassed him by telling Naruto that she literally saved his butt from a tougher beating.

This girl was different from the ones he was used to being around. Sasuke never paid women much attention. Most women all seemed to be annoying and demanding to him - never giving him space for himself. They knew nothing of boundaries or respect. Hinata however - she seemed quiet, and reserved. She offered silence without being asked, and never over stepped her mark when it came to personal space. She hadn't tried to throw herself all over him, and even her damsel in distress story that she'd gave Naruto made her sound more embarrassed than grateful and romanticized like he was her Prince Charming. He had appreciated that much.

"Thank you, Hinata." He spoke softly.

His soft velvet voice had sent a chill down Hinata's spine, causing her to shiver slightly. She looked up at him with bright eyes. It wasn't often that Hinata was genuinely thanked by someone, and she could tell from his demeanor that he wasn't the type of person to be openly grateful. With a small up curve of her mouth, she nodded as a form of accepting his thanks.

Naruto came back into the room shortly after with two black mugs in his hands, steam floating above the top.

"Here you go! One piping hot coffee" he grinned and handed her one of the hot mugs, placing the other on the side of the coffee table he was going to be sitting on. "Just wait Sasuke" he said as he headed back in to the kitchen to grab a glass of something a little stronger for Sasuke's pain.

Sasuke happily took the glass that was half filled with scotch from his friend, thankful that the idiot gave him that instead of medication.

Naruto sat down and looked to Hinata who was blowing gently on the top of the hot liquid. "So Hinata, do you need me to walk you home later?" he asked, taking a mouthful of his coffee.

Hinata took a small sip of the hot beverage, taking note of its overly sweet taste. Naruto had clearly gone sugar happy with it, but she was still grateful for his effort.

Looking up at him she shook her head slowly, "Oh, no thank you… I should be able to get myself home." She drank a little more of the coffee in her hands, "thank you for the offer, and the coffee Naruto. It's very good."

' **Hn** ' Sasuke grunted, taking a swig at the alcoholic beverage in his hand with a smirk on his face _'that coffee is toxic, and she knows it'_ he thought to himself, he had seen the way her nose scrunched up after the first sip. She was too polite for her own good.

"Do you have something to say, jerk?!" Naruto looked at Sasuke with furrowed brows, raising a fist as if he wanted to fight from the remark Sasuke had made to Hinata's nice compliment.

Sasuke looked at Hinata before his gaze returned to Naruto. "Yeah idiot, your coffee is basically just sugar and water."

Naruto opened his mouth to yell at Sasuke, but was stopped by the faint laugh he had heard erupt from Hinata's lips.

"I'm sorry, it is a little sweet" she spoke softly, placing a mostly empty cup of coffee down on the table, "but I do enjoy it nonetheless" she said as she offered him another smile. It was true though, as Hinata had a love for everything sweet.

Naruto smiled at her, and looked at Sasuke as if he'd won a fight they hadn't even had.

"I should get going though, it's quite late." She mumbled, looking at the silver watch on her wrist that read 11:47pm. "Thank you for your hospitality" she stood and smiled once more at Naruto before turning her gaze to Sasuke, "I hope you rest easy, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at her and nodded so faintly that she almost missed it. It was small, but she greatly appreciated his small gesture of thanks.

Naruto walked over to her, "Look, after what happened earlier tonight I can't possibly let you walk home by yourself" he motioned over towards Sasuke's direction, "can't risk something like that happening to you, it'll be safer if I walk you home."

Hinata's mouth curved downwards slightly, but she nodded. She knew that to protect the story that she'd lied to Naruto about for Sasuke, that all she could do was accept his kind gesture to walk her home. "Okay, thank you Naruto…" She smiled, "and thank you too, Sasuke."

Sasuke watched as the two figures disappeared out the door and he was finally left alone.

Finishing off his glass of scotch, he kicked off his shoes and lay back carefully onto the lounge. ' _She's the last person who needs protection walking home'_ he grinned to himself and stared up at the ceiling, closing his eyes.

He was happy to welcome in a long (and probably painful) slumber.

* * *

 **more coming soon.**

Let me know what your thoughts are, as I am new to this!

~ Maixxy


	2. The Reason

Thank you everyone so much for taking your time to read and review this!

 **Disclaimer:** I still do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

 _-thoughts-_

* * *

 **THE REASON**

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As soon as they had left Naruto's and Sasuke's house, Hinata had felt a dread enter her as they began to walk down the dark and quiet road. This dread wasn't because she was scared of walking with a stranger, or being out so late at night – No, it was a different type of dread.

Hinata wasn't particularly new to this town, but it had been many years since Hinata had been back here, and she wasn't exactly back for the best of reasons.

Despite owning a house in the area and only being a few blocks away from Naruto and Sasuke - Hinata never stayed there, in fact she refused to stay there. It was a house, but it certainly wasn't her home.

Hinata was worried what Naruto might say if she led him to the Hotel she'd been staying at. Not worried in the 'he might get the wrong idea or want to come up' way, but in the 'he might offer me to stay at their house if he knows' way, and Hinata didn't want to be questioned about her reasons for staying in a Hotel. This led to her feet to take direction, leading her towards the house that she did not wish to go to, but would provide less commotion. She challenged herself to be strong.

"So, Hinata" Naruto spoke, breaking her away from her thoughts. "What were you doing out so late by yourself in the first place? Weren't you scared?"

Hinata turned to look at Naruto, he was looking straight forward and had his hands rested on the back of his neck. She chewed the inside of her cheek as her eyes redirected back to the path in front of her. "I was leaving work" she said honestly, "I finished a lot later than I thought I would."

Naruto had completely missed the fact that she'd avoided one of his questions as curiosity got the better of him. "Oh, where do you work? Somewhere close I hope?"

Hinata gave a nod in agreement, "Yes. I have just started working at a café called 'The Bird Cage'."

Naruto's ears perked up and he stopped in his tracks, "the bird cage?" he questioned, and Hinata could tell by the look on his face that the cogs were turning in his mind. "That's the café across from the big building isn't it, the building that's all black reflective windows?" his hands moving to gesture a tall building.

"That's the one" Hinata smiled faintly, stopping besides him.

The grin on Naruto's face grew, "Sakura works there too! Do you know her?"

Hinata's eyes travelled to the top left corner of her eye, as if searching her brain for familiarity before she shook her head in disagreement, "I don't think so, it doesn't sound too familiar" she said softly, her left hand moving up to her mouth, she softly bit onto the side of her index finger, "I am only new there though, so I might not have seen her before."

"She's awesome!" Naruto said enthusiastically, "She's really pretty, she has bright pink hair like cherry blossoms" he spoke happily, his face looking full of wonder and dream before suddenly dropping into fear and concern as he turned to look at Hinata, his shoulders raising ever so slightly and his face moving closer to Hinata's "But she's really scary sometimes and crazy strong!" Naruto whispered with a hand besides his mouth like someone would hear them talking, even though there was absolutely no one to be seen or heard in the dark of the night. He had taken so many hard hits to the back of his head that he wouldn't even risk the wind travelling his words all the way to Sakura's ears.

Hinata laughed nervously at his antics and waved her hand to dismiss him from thinking she'd say anything to Sakura about the conversation. "S-She sounds lovely!" Hinata blurted out quickly.

Naruto moved away from her and began walking again, slowly at the start so Hinata would be able to follow his lead before taking over it. "Yeah, Sasuke and I are actually meeting her for lunch tomorrow on her break, you should join us!" he said with a toothy grin, "You seem pretty cool too, and I think you'd fit in with our friends really well… If you'd like to that is."

Hinata watched Naruto with a genuine smile on her face, and happiness filling in her heart at being able to meet some new people so soon into moving, she was very grateful for the opportunities that were being offered to her – even despite the circumstances that they had arrived in. "That would be wonderful Naruto, thank you."

Naruto waved her of casually, "It's no problem at all! Having some good friends is really important… Uh… Not saying that you don't already have any good friends or anything though." He chuckled with a nervousness in his tone, hoping he hadn't offended her at all with his brash statement.

"Actually I've just moved back here after a long time away" Hinata said faintly, her eyes drawing down to her feet, "it would be really great to meet some people."

"Really? Well it's a good thing that Sasuke came along when he did hey! We'll be sure to introduce you to a lot of really awesome people, and I promise that you'll fit right in!" Naruto spoke loud and proudly, nudging her arm softly with encouragement.

Hinata truly was grateful, even more so that he hadn't pried too much into her personal life by asking where she was from or why she'd moved back – at first she had thought that he was being polite by not asking her too many personal questions about herself, but then she had realized after a short while that he was just blissfully ignorant and nothing more. His attention span didn't spread much further than the last sentence she'd speak, so she utilized it to her advantage.

For the rest of the walk back to the house, Hinata listened intently to Naruto. He was boasting about his dreams and goals and everything he was doing to achieve them. It all seemed to come so naturally to him, opening up and being so confident. Hinata was a little envious of that trait, but nonetheless she found herself enjoying listening to him, it was refreshing and inspiring. She was more than sure that he would be able to reach everything he had set out to do.

"This is my place" Hinata interrupted, touching his arm so he wouldn't keep walking – which she was more than sure he would if she didn't speak up, he was lost in his train of conversation and thought. "Thank you for walking me home Naruto, I look forward to seeing you and Sasuke tomorrow, I hope he'll be okay."

Naruto smiled at her and shook his head, "It was no problem!" he said with his smile growing wider, "and Sasuke will be fine so don't worry about that jerk!" he began to take a few steps backwards as she approached her front door and fumbled her pocket for her own keys. "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata!"

With a smile and a wave, she watched as Naruto took off down the road in a slow jog until his shadow disappeared into the night.

Her breathing hitched as her fingers brushed against the cold metal of her keys in her pocket. "You can do this." She whispered quietly to herself, her shaking hands sliding the key into the hole, she turned it slowly until it clicked. "You can do this!" she tried to reassure herself more, her legs beginning to feel like they were turning into jelly.

With a soft push, the door swung wide open. Hinata stared down the long dark hallway, her eyes looking like a deer caught in headlights. "You can't do this" her voice croaked quietly, "You can't do this!" she said louder and slammed the door shut, shoving the keys back into her pocket.

Hinata turned quickly, she turned quickly away from the house and took off down the road in a hurried pace, her hands still shaking and her heart racing so fast she felt it would burst through her chest and take flight.

It would be another night in a Hotel room for her.

 **-o-o-o-**

Stirring awake uncomfortably on the couch, Sasuke sat up. Running his hands through his silky black hair, he winced as he felt a sharp pain jab his rib. _That's right_ Sasuke thought as he looked downwards, pulling up the corner of his shirt to reveal a dark black-blue bruise across his ribs, he touched it gingerly and inhaled a sharp breath. _Certainly not broken, but it's going to take some time to heal._

His eyes wandered towards the large black faced clock hanging on the wall besides the entry way to the kitchen, _it's nearly 11 o'clock_ he thought, shocked at how late he had slept in. _Better get Naruto up, he'll kill me if he doesn't get to see Sakura today._

Sasuke groaned as he pushed himself up off of the couch, his hand placed firmly to his injured rib as he stumbled to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. _I don't know what's more painful, seeing Sakura or dealing with Naruto if we don't see Sakura. Certainly not these damn ribs, I'd take some bruised ribs any day if it meant I could avoid the both of them._

Sasuke made his way towards Naruto's room, and without knocking he swung the door wide open, "Oi idiot, get up or we'll be late for lunch."

"~~~Sakuraaaa!" Naruto purred in his half asleep state, his face buried into his pillow with drool sliding down his chin from a dorky smile.

Sasuke looked at the sight with distaste, "Naruto." He said firmly, hoping to get a rise out of the slumbering blonde but with no avail. "Naruto! Get up!" He shouted, turning on his feet and slamming the door shut as he made his way towards the bathroom to have a shower, he didn't have the patience to spend a half hour trying to get that idiot out of bed.

"I'm up!" Naruto yelled, jumping up from his sleeping position to a now alert and wide awake one. He looked around the room scratching the back of his head, confused as to why it was empty; he could have sworn someone was trying to wake him just now.

 **-o-o-o-**

Sasuke ignored Naruto as he ranted and raved on about god knows what on their walk to the Café, the last thing that he wanted was to be going here in the first place, let alone having his ears chewed off in the process.

"-and so Hinata is going to join us" Naruto's loud voice boomed in Sasuke's ear, pulling in his sudden attention.

"What did you just say?" Sasuke said, looking at Naruto very attentively, it wasn't often that Naruto could pique his interest with his never ending thoughts and never closing mouth.

Naruto blinked slowly, as if he had to focus hard to remember what he was just talking about. "Eh?" he turned to look at Sasuke, his eyes trailing up to the small cut above Sasuke's eyebrow. "Oh! That's right" he grinned widely, "Hinata said she works with Sakura! So I invited her to join us for lunch today!"

Sasuke suddenly felt much more inclined to get to the café on time, surprising himself at the small spark of curiosity (he wouldn't dare say interest) he had in the blue haired girl from last night's encounter.

When they arrived at the café, Sasuke was the first through the door with Naruto tailing not far behind him. His eyes searched the quaint little café with potted succulents hanging in little blue pots from the sides of the walls, searching for any sight of the lady from last night. He was disappointingly met with something else though, obnoxious pink hair and another loud voice calling out to Naruto and him.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Sakura called out, waving at the two boys as they entered the café's double doors, she turned towards Hinata "That's the boys now, time for a break!" She said happily, her hands reaching around her back to untie the red apron's ribbons, pulling it off and folding it onto the counter. "Are you coming?" she asked curiously, taking note that Hinata was still standing there with her eyes on the clipboard she was holding in her hands "Hinata?" she called, waving a hand in front of Hinata's dazed white eyes.

Hinata, broken from her trance looked at Sakura and smiled, "Oh, sorry Sakura… You're fine to join them… I shouldn't be too far off" she mumbled, pulling the clipboard closer to her chest "I just want to get this one thing done and check on the others before I come over."

The morning had been busy, a lot busier than Hinata could have imagined and she was finding herself all a bit lost in the hours of the day. Sakura was the first person to show up for their shift today, and she was a little nervous at introducing herself to the pink haired beauty.

Sakura though, reminded Hinata a lot of Naruto. She was loud, confident and driven. It didn't take much more than saying she knew the boys to have Sakura go on about 'the loud idiot' (who she had assumed was Naruto) and listened to her fawn and fuss about Sasuke, his rugged good looks and killer personality. (Which, Hinata made no comment on – but could not deny that he was indeed a very handsome man)

Making her way over to the two men that she'd known practically all her life, Sakura moved to sit across from them at the booth they had chosen to sit in besides the front window.

"So you've met Hinata!" Naruto said excitedly, his eyes bright and following Sakura's every move with interest. "Is she coming to join us?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder at the ever busy Hinata rushing around checking on all the other employees, "Hinata won't be too long, she's just trying to work on something." She turned back to them with a smile on her face, "she's really kind and humble," but the smile didn't last long as her face drooped down into a frown, looking between the two boys "it really is so sad though." She sighed.

Piquing the interest of both boys, they sat up straighter in their seats, "So sad, why?" Naruto was the first to ask.

Sakura's frown grew, as she looked around to make sure that no one else was listening before continuing on with the news. "Well you see Hinata is the new owner of this place."

"And how is that sad?" Sasuke interjected.

With a look of annoyance in his direction that quickly diminished, Sakura sighed once more "Well you see she didn't buy into the business. Hinata hasn't said anything to anyone at all but we were told that her cousin past away and left everything to her. They were really close apparently, like siblings are."

Sasuke's eyes moved to look in Hinata's direction, and he watched her intensively as she hurried about like a mouse, looking flustered and confused with a pen shoved in her neat bun of hair. _So she's like me_ he thought, draining out the rest of the commotion from the two obnoxious morons he was sitting with.

Hinata had felt an uncomfortable presence wash over her, like she was being watched very closely – in fact she could almost feel someone's eyes burning through the back of her head. She moved the clipboard in her hands down to her side as she looked up and around, searching for any evidence of someone watching her.

Then, white orbs met intense charcoal. Hinata froze in place, feeling her face heating up ever so lightly as she stared into Sasuke's eyes from across the room.

Hinata was the first to break contact after a silent moment was shared between the two.

"Here Hinata, it's for Sakura's table." Came a friendly voice from behind Hinata, making her jump ever so slightly out of her trance, she turned to look at the mousy haired girl who was holding a tray of toasted sandwiches. "The drinks won't be too long, go sit down and have a break."

Taking the tray from the girl's hands, Hinata nodded in thanks and made her way to the table. Placing the tray down between the lot of them as she slid into the seat besides Sakura. It was then that she could tell.

Naruto's eyes had said it all the moment she looked up at him to greet a hello - her eyes darted to Sakura's whose flashed with guilt and pity for a moment's time before turning into the friendlier gaze that Sakura had been giving her all day. Hinata expected to see the same in Sasuke's, but was surprised that he wasn't looking at her like she had grown an extra head. The casual look he seemed to have calmed her immensely from the storm that was brewing inside her heart and mind that they all knew her story without her even having have said anything at all. She welcomed his look, she ached for it, and she needed ever bit of it to keep herself stabilized.

"Good afternoon," she said quietly, trying not to let her voice give away the thoughts that were flooding through her "you're looking better this morning, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded at her to show that he had heard and agreed, not being much of the conversationalist.

Sakura's eyes looked Sasuke up and down, as if she hadn't quite noticed before that anything was possibly wrong with him, it was only then that she noticed the small cut on his eyebrow. "So how do you all know each other?" she asked curiously, looking between Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto, with a mouth filled with toasted sandwich spoke up first, "Hinata got into some trouble on her way home last night, and Sasuke helped her out" he swallowed almost at the same time as taking another large bite "we got to know her a little bit, but it was pretty late so we just invited her to join us when she mentioned this place!"

The hot drinks had arrived at the table, and Sakura had caught Sasuke and Hinata staring at each other as Sasuke drank his hot coffee, and Hinata her green tea.

A pang of jealous struck Sakura, _she damsel in distressed him?!_ Her mind raced before she shook it off _no, she doesn't seem the type…_ No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, Sakura couldn't stop her mind from jumping from conclusion to conclusion.

"How are you enjoying working here?" Sakura asked, trying to distract her mind from its previous thoughts.

"Yeah, owning a business must be pretty cool!" Naruto blurted out, not thinking of the circumstances that led to her success.

Sasuke saw that the light in Hinata's eyes had diminished, but the smile on her face stayed all but the same, if not a little forced from the lack of connection between her lips and her eyes.

Hinata took a large mouthful of her green tea, nodding with a forced smile on her face as her thoughts turned to Neji, and all he had ever done for her – and was still seemingly able to do for her even after his untimely death. "It's a little stressful, but I think I'm getting a hold of it. The staff is really great."

"Well you'd have to say that sitting beside me!" Sakura nudged her softly, trying to lighten the atmosphere. _Naruto and his big loud mouth_ she darted a glare in his direction, but her smile remained focused in Hinata's direction.

Naruto, upon seeing Sakura's brief but scary glare, gulped down hard on his food, having forgotten to chew he coughed and spluttered, taking a large mouthful of his coffee to get the lodged food particle the rest of the way down his throat. That was certainly not a look that anyone would want from Sakura.

For the remaining forty minutes of their lunch break, Hinata listened to Naruto and Sakura boast about their friends and small details about them – saying how they should organize a time throughout the week to get everyone together and introduce them all. 'Like family' they had called their group of friends. Hinata was happy to be getting an invitation to join in and meet them all. It certainly hadn't been an easy couple of days that she'd had in town so far.

Neji's passing was so sudden, that Hinata felt she didn't have the time or place to grieve - and finding out that he had left absolutely everything in his name to her meant that she didn't get much time to wrap her head around it all before she was on a plane and on her way into the town she grew up in.

Her father and mother had moved for business opportunities elsewhere many years ago, but Neji who had been living with them at the time decided that he would stay as he was attending college at the time and was able to move onto the campus.

Hinata had always wanted to come back, but never had anything that was driving her to move, and unfortunately a passing of her dearest cousin had now been that thing that brought her back, and him leaving everything to her gave her a reason to stay. If only she had known what she knew now, she would have moved a long time ago and spent her days with the person who had inspired her most in life, who helped her build up strength, courage, and told her that she could have the world in her hands if she just allowed herself to see what others saw in her.

Neji always tried to make Hinata believe that she could be strong and confident, and for him she was trying her damnedest to now. It would kill her if she didn't do that for him, he'd look down at her from the heavens and frown if she couldn't be all that he believed her to be.

Sasuke could tell that Hinata was only half paying attention to Naruto and Sakura, as he was doing very much the same. Without paying too much attention to his actions, he had watched her nearly the entire time. He knew what she was going through, in fact the reason that Hinata had stumbled across him last night was because he had purposely gone out last night to seek a fight – it was his way of releasing his pain and anger from the passing of his older brother. He didn't pity her, or feel sorry for her. Sasuke had understood her, and on a silent level he had connected with her.

* * *

 **more coming in due time!**

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I thought I better build up Hinata's character a bit more, and add the reason as to why she is and why she was that way in the first chapter!

Any and all comments or criticism is welcomed, as it helps me grow and learn.

~ Maixxy


	3. A Surprise Guest

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

 _-thoughts-_

* * *

 **A SURPRISE GUEST**

* * *

It was another late night at the café for Hinata. The last of the staff had left over 2 hours ago, but Hinata still had some work that she needed to get done as the new owner of the business.

With all the lights in the café off and just a few medium sized candles on the center of the table to illuminate the room, Hinata was seated in a rather comfy grey armchair with her chin rested on one hand and her elbows rested on the table in front of her.

With a tap of her pen and a deep sigh, Hinata looked down at the jumbles of paperwork spread over the table and tried her best to make sense of them. She had never owned or ran a business herself before, and so she wasn't quite sure on how to work out the budgeting with orders, bills, and of course the pay rate for her employees. She had tried looking over previous book keepings of Neji's, but they had varied with calculations and other businesses that they had sourced supplies from.

It was not something she could so easily wrap her head around, but she would be damned if she didn't try her hardest to get it right. Hinata owed this to Neji; she had to prove to him that she was able to do this. Neji had left it to her for a reason, and she did not want to dishonor his final wishes. She would not disappoint her dear cousin, and she would not let a business that he built from the ground up and loved dearly to fall from its grace. No, Hinata refused to let a few piles of paperwork and calculations beat her.

Of course, Hinata could have easily taken all this work back to the hotel and done it there instead of sitting in a dark empty tea and coffee house, but she was worried that the hotel's staff might accidentally mistake it for rubbish and throw it out. It was a silly thing to be worried about, but you can never be too careful when it comes to something so important.

' **Knock, knock** ' the sound of something tapping on glass had Hinata jumping in her seat with her pen being sent flying from her hand and landing on the floor, rolling underneath the table.

Curious as to what the sound was caused by, Hinata stood up and slowly made her way towards the direction of the front door where the noise had originated from.

With a raise of her brow and a confused, yet surprised look on her face, Hinata turned the lock of the door and opened it wide. "Sasuke?" she questioned, staring at the dark haired man who stood in front of her, "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke raised his hands to reveal a bag of what looked to be food containers, and Hinata could tell from the steamed insides that it was hot food. Her stomach growled, making her turn a crimson red.

With a small smirk from the noise Hinata's stomach had made, Sasuke moved past Hinata and through the door way before turning to face her. "I walked past here earlier on my way to grab some food and seen there was a light on," he shrugged "figured if you were here so late that you probably wouldn't have eaten."

A smile grew on Hinata's face as she flicked the latch of the lock and closed the door. "That's nice of you, Sasuke." She said as her hand touched his shoulder tenderly and made her way back over to the table she was seated at previously, she gestured for him to come and join her as she began to pull the files in to one pile. "You didn't have to do such a kind thing, but I appreciate it."

Sasuke who was now on the opposite side of the table looked down at the paper work she was trying to tidy up as he took a seat. "It's the least I can do."

Normally this wasn't something Sasuke would ever do, and he had surprised himself by doing just that. It wasn't until he was at the counter and making his order that he realized he had made more than one.

Hinata had certainly gained his attention more than he would care to admit. On his way to the food joint he had caught himself staring into the café as he walked by, his eyes drawn in by a faint glow of a soft orange light to land upon the blue haired, fair skinned beauty. The image reminded him of a face illuminated by street lights, and another basking in the soft glow of his lounge room.

The next thing he knew, he was knocking on the glass door and feeling a slight tightness in his throat.

"Oh, rice balls!" Hinata beamed as she opened the bag and began to pull out the plastic containers.

Sasuke reached over and grabbed the containers containing cooked fish and pickled vegetables, opening the lids and placing them in the middle of the table besides the flickering flame of the candles, his eyes once again drawn to the pile of paper work that was now placed on the table to the right of them. "What are you working on?" He asked as he passed her some chopsticks.

With a snap of the wooden sticks to break them apart, Hinata's eyes followed Sasuke's gaze before fixating back on him with a small frown on her face, "budgeting for the business… I-I'm not too certain of it."

Using one of the container lids as a plate, Sasuke began to focus on piling food in front of him. "Did you want me to look over it?" he said casually without looking up at her. Sasuke worked in finances, so he was more than sure he could handle a little businesses budgets, he had seen more than enough paper work to do it with his eyes closed.

The frown on Hinata's face disappeared as she looked at Sasuke, this man who she barely knew and had already done so much to make her feel welcomed and comfortable. A warm feeling washed through her and she felt a tug at the corners of her mouth. "You would do that?"

"After we eat I can." Sasuke said simply, gesturing his chopsticks at the food for her to help herself.

The two ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying the food and one another's company without the need to have a conversation. Both seemed to prefer it that way, as neither one was very talkative in general.

A smile remained on Hinata's face as she ate, stealing an occasional glance up in Sasuke's direction and finding herself relieved that he didn't look like he was stuck in an awkward or tiring position. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. Sasuke had a neutral look to him, a cool and relaxed look.

Once they had both had their fair share of food, Sasuke began to close the containers and piled them back into the bag before placing it on the floor. He reached over and grabbed the pile of paper work from the other table as Hinata stood up and moved behind the counter of the café, the coffee machine coming to life.

Hinata was still surprised that someone who she had only known for a few days now was willing to help her out as much as they were, especially when that person was Sasuke.

As she steamed the milk to make them both a coffee, she watched him shuffle through the papers.

Sasuke had been in and out of the café over the last five days with Naruto, mostly in the mornings to pick up a coffee on their way to work, dressed smartly from head to toe in suits. They had both always been so polite and would always nod or say hello in the brief moments they had come by. Hinata was usually rather busy and struggled to find the time to have a conversation or join into the one that Sakura would have with them over the counter as they were served, but knew that once she had settled into her job that she would be able to make the time to wish them a good day at work.

"I think I've got it." Sasuke said aloud as he looked around for a pen to write down the solutions.

Hinata walked back over and placed a cappuccino in front of him and a chai latte on her side of the table before she remembered the pen that had rolled under the table earlier when he had startled her. She kneeled down and hesitated before moving her hand in between his legs to grab the pen behind his heels.

Sasuke looked down at her on her knees between his legs, feeling a little tense with the sight of her in such position. As she stood up, he took the pen from her hands slowly. It took him a moment to reconnect his thoughts; he shook his head and focused on the paper in his other hand. Moving pen to paper, he began to jot down calculation after calculation, stunning Hinata who now sat across from him once more with her hands hugging a warm mug.

Hinata took a mouthful of the warm liquid which felt like velvet on her tongue, watching him with a stunned and impressed look on her face as she stared over the top of the paper. She couldn't believe how easy it came to him, he had managed to perfectly budget the earnings from the business enough to pay all the employees, calculate the orders needed to replenish stock, pay for the bills and even take home a nice little profit.

Sasuke slid over the work, inwardly impressed with himself as he looked at her blink in disbelief and astonishment. He took this time to enjoy the cappuccino that had slightly cooled from the time he had finished writing down everything.

"You make it look so easy," Hinata looked up at him, "I wish I could do that."

"It's what I do for a living." Sasuke shrugged with a small smirk on his face.

With a new sense of relief and weight having been lifted from her shoulders, Hinata felt herself sink down into the comfort of the armchair she was seated in. "Really Sasuke, thank you for tonight. You've been an amazing friend to me, someone who you barely know. You didn't have to do any of this, but I'm really happy you have." The smile on her face remained as the rest of her face began to feel warm.

Sasuke had almost missed the redness that appeared in her cheeks, and welcomed the sensation of pride that grew as he continued to impress her tonight. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement and agreement, "I am too."

Hinata took in the sight of Sasuke across from her, his jagged onyx hair, his deep charcoal eyes that reflected the flicker light of the candle flame and the slick smirk that tugged at the edges of his lips. He certainly was a vision; she could see why the ladies who worked for her as well as customers seemed to fawn over him. _And he's such a gentlemen,_ she smiled at the thought and wondered if many people got to witness the side of him that she was seeing tonight, most of the time she had seen him he kept to himself and would prefer a nod over speaking.

"I'm a little nervous for tomorrow," Hinata spoke up, her fingers squeezing around the mug of her latte a little tighter, "meeting your friends, as well as Naruto's and Sakura's."

Sasuke felt his smirk fade a little as he remembered that tomorrow night his house would be filled with a large group of people having drinks and a barbeque, Naruto's idea of introducing Hinata into their group of friends. _Ah yes, a large group of idiots for hours on end_ , he internally sighed. "Don't be, they're idiots but they're good people." He placed down his now empty mug onto the table, "did you want me to meet up and walk with you tomorrow?"

Hinata shook her head slowly, "No, it should be alright. Naruto has offered to meet me here at 5 o'clock tomorrow."

 _Damn that idiot, he's too interested in her._ Sasuke found himself thinking, wondering if Naruto was up to anything at all.

"He's such a nice guy." Hinata smiled, "you really have yourself a wonderful friend."

"Tsk." Sasuke scoffed, though he didn't disagree that Naruto was a nice guy, he didn't want to openly agree either.

"Naruto has so many dreams and ambitions, it's rather inspiring." Her eyes traveled up to the ceiling in thought and memory of their conversation from the night he had walked her back to her place, the night that she had met Sasuke and him.

Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed as he watched her and observed the way she talked about Naruto. _Naruto is 'inspiring'? He has the mental capacity of a child. Why is she's so interested in him? When did he even get the chance to offer her company tomorrow?_

Hinata finished off her latte and took his empty mug in her hand and stood up, moving back behind the counter to rinse them and place them in the dish washer for tomorrow morning. "How did you and Naruto meet?" she asked out of curiosity as she looked at his slumped figure in the arm chair from across the counter.

Sasuke swung his chair around to look at her leaning over the counter at him with that small smile spread across her soft pink lips. "We went all the way through school together."

"What was he like? Has he always been the same as he is now?" She asked.

With a small pause in conversation, Sasuke's eyes narrowed once more and he raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so interested?"

Hinata, taken a little aback by the response chewed the inside of her cheek gently, her smile fading slowly. "Well, I'm not too sure. He just seems to always see the bright side of things in life. I envy that in a way."

"Do you like him?" Sasuke asked suddenly, not too sure as to where the words came from himself, but found himself impatiently expecting her answer.

Blinking as if she hadn't understood or heard him properly, Hinata's expression changed to shock. "Eh?" she squeaked, before shaking her head profusely and laughing nervously, waving her hands in front of herself as to gesture a no. "N-No!"

" **Good.** " Sasuke said quietly but firmly under his breath.

"What was that?" Hinata's ears perked up, she hadn't heard what he had said at all, but seen his lips move.

"Nothing" Sasuke said, grabbing the bag of food from earlier from the floor and standing up.

Hinata frowned as she observed his actions. "Are you leaving?" she asked in a tone just above a whisper.

Sasuke nodded.

"Oh…" Hinata's voice trailed, "was it something I said?"

"It's getting late." Sasuke said simply, all the talk of Naruto (despite not being much), had turned his mood upside down. He wouldn't dare admit that he was feeling a little tender and jealous from the way she had shown interest in the blonde, loud-mouthed idiot he called a best friend. He didn't understand why he was so interested in Hinata, or why on earth she'd have any interest in his friend. Usually Sasuke was the one being fawned over, and it didn't feel nice to have someone he had an interest in – having an interest elsewhere.

Hinata let out a sad sigh, unhappy that such a lovely night was coming to an end, but did agree that it was getting rather late. Sasuke had really shown her a side of himself that she felt he didn't express to others often. It made her feel a sense of privilege – and then she had to go and ruin a perfectly good night by asking too many personally invading questions.

"Come on, I'll walk you half way." Sasuke gestured towards the front door with a point of his thumb over his shoulder.

Hinata, now confused raised an eyebrow. "Half way?" she questioned him, unsure as to how he knew where her place was.

Sasuke nodded, "Naruto told me you live a couple blocks from us" he watched as she grabbed a cardigan and a bag and came out from behind the counter, "figured we'd just walk until we need to split."

With a gentle blow, Hinata watched the candle light die down, the wick still burning a bright orange before fading down with a sizzle of smoke. She collected the paper work and went back behind the counter to place it into a locked drawer before making her way over to Sasuke, "That sounds nice." She offered him a warm smile, partially relieved that she could avoid him finding out that she was still in a hotel instead of the house that Naruto had walked her into. However, they were in the same direction either way.

Sasuke led the way to the front door, and watched as Hinata unlocked the door and gestured for him to walk out as she swung it open. Complying with her instruction, he moved out of the door way and heard the lock click behind him.

Hinata had quickly turned on her heels and found herself bumping into Sasuke's back before stablizing herself back onto her two feet behind him, "Sorry!" she clutched onto the sleeve of her cardigan.

Looking over his shoulder and down at Hinata, he felt a small smile cross his face. Sometimes he had noticed she was clumsy, and other times she was very attentive. He wondered if he made her nervous at all. "Come on."

"Y-Yes" Hinata mumbled as she moved to the left side of him, following him down the street and around the bends, their feet moving in perfect unison. It was something silly that Hinata had noticed that made her smile.

She had come to realize that she rather enjoyed spending time with Sasuke, although quiet and on some occasions a little nerve racking or confusing – she found herself perfectly comfortable and content.

Sasuke reminded her of Neji in a lot of ways, but with his own unique personality entwined between. Despite feeling rather strange for comparing the two, it also helped her to feel grounded, and she longed for that feeling to remain in place.

* * *

 **more coming in due time!**

I hope you enjoyed this little chapter here! Feel free to review or provide me constructive criticism. :)

~ Maixxy


	4. The Introduction Party

It's a day late, I know!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

 _-thoughts-_

* * *

 **THE INTRODUCTION PARTY**

* * *

Hinata stood at the front of the café with her arms wrapped around her waist, and a jacket folded over them as she waited for Naruto.

It was the very first time that she had managed to finish work on time since becoming the new owner of the business, something that she had to thank Sasuke for. If he hadn't stopped by last night and helped her out, she feared she would never get a chance to close up shop any earlier than 9 o'clock at night.

It was only 4:30 in the afternoon, so she knew there was still some time to wait until Naruto came by to collect her and walk with her back to his place. Having only been there once before, and during the middle of the night… Hinata wasn't too certain she would be able to find her way back there too easily on her own.

As a way to make time pass quicker, Hinata let her thoughts distract her - but no matter how hard she tried, she continued to find Sasuke in her head. She couldn't help it, and she couldn't make it stop. Every thought that she had today somehow lead her to think of Sasuke.

There was nothing that Hinata could do to forget the deepness of his dark eyes, and the liquid velvet of his voice. She could understand why so many women seemed to have an interest in him.

This was different for her though, as they weren't the standout things that Hinata was drawn to. Of course she couldn't deny that they filled her with wonder, but more over she was drawn into him by the kindness that he had shown her and the look in his eyes that always without a doubt seemed to ground her when she felt the world was beginning to crumble beneath her feet.

Yes… Hinata was drawn in by so much more than a few overwhelming physical aspects of him. In her mind, anyone could easy be charmed and dazzled by ones appearance, but finding someone with a good soul was all the more worth.

If Hinata was asked what word she would associate best with Sasuke, it wouldn't be 'charming' or 'gorgeous' – it would be 'deep' or 'focused'.

There was definitely much more to Sasuke than met the eye, and Hinata was grateful just to even have a glance at some of other sides to him. So far, finding out a small piece of the mystery that surrounded him was a great feeling, one she wanted to continue to feel.

 _It will be good to see him again tonight_ a smile spread across Hinata's face at the thought as she clutched her jacket closer to her chest and closed her eyes.

When she re opened her eyes, she was surprised to be met with a bright and mesmerizing cerulean ocean right in front of her.

Blinking a few times as to try and recollect her thoughts, Hinata came to the realization that it was not in fact an ocean, but another pair of eyes only centimeters away from her own.

"Eh?" Hinata eeped as she stumbled backwards onto her heels, her arms unfolding and moving behind her to press against the glass door as to not fall. "N-Naruto!" she breathed out quickly, her heart thumping from the sudden fright. Hinata hadn't even heard him approach her at all. "You scared me! What are you doing?"

Naruto took a step back and chuckled, looking down at Hinata who was biting on her lower lip and staring up at him with her bright big eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you. I called out, but you didn't hear me."

Hinata stood up straight and looked down at her feet, "I'm sorry… My mind was elsewhere."

Naruto waved a dismissing hand at her, "Nervous to meet some new people are you?"

Not wanting to let Naruto know where her thoughts truly were, she nodded sheepishly and offered him a smile.

"Come on, let's get a move on!" Naruto said happily, his arm gesturing for them to turn around and head off down the street. "Everyone should already be there by the time we make it back!"

 **-o-o-o-**

"I'm sooo hungry!" A large broad man groaned, his hands clutching on to his stomach, "How long is Naruto going to be? Sasuke! Why don't you cook some barbecue for us?"

"Hn" Sasuke scoffed as he casually leaned back against the brick wall with his arms crossed "Because Choji, Naruto's the one that wanted to have this, not me. He can cook."

"Ohh Shikamaru!" the big burly man groaned, turning to look at his best friend with dark hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail, his eyes pleading that he needed food.

Shikamaru let out a sigh "How troublesome…" he looked at the barbecue before back at Choji, "You can help then." He said as he grabbed a pair of tongs and turned the barbecue on. He looked at Sasuke through the corner of his eye with a small glare before focusing on placing the meat on the grill in front of him.

Sasuke shook his head and pushed himself off of the wall, deciding that now would be the best time to head back inside and away from the group of people in his backyard all bickering and being loud.

As he made his way through the back door and into the dining room, he felt a hand wrap around his wrist and tug him backwards.

"Sasuke, come back out… Don't lock yourself inside, please?" came Sakura's soft pleading voice, her eyes staring up at the back of his head and her grip tightening on his wrist.

"Why should I? All it's doing is giving me a headache." Sasuke pulled his wrist out of her grip and walked over into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and a bottle of scotch to pour himself a drink.

Following him into the kitchen, Sakura reached over and grabbed another glass, placing it besides the one Sasuke had set down for himself. "You don't have to exclude yourself either. This is for Hinata."

Sasuke held back a scoff and poured a drink into her glass after pouring his own. Turning to look at her and lean across the bench, he shook his head and took a sip of his drink. _Using Hinata as an excuse to get what you want, how typical Sakura._

Sakura frowned for a moment's time before picking up her glass and staring down into the amber liquid. She wondered if Sasuke would ever be able to return her feelings. She had spent so many years chasing after Sasuke, wanting to be the person who changed his ways and made him smile… And for a time, she was… Of course Naruto was as well, but her name was still up there and that counted for something.

"We're here!" Naruto's loud voice came booming before the front door had even managed to swing wide open.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke stood a little taller and his eyes eagerly turned towards the direction that Naruto's voice came from. It crushed her inside to know he was interested so much in someone other than herself.

Coming into the sight of Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto grinned and made his way over to Sasuke, slapping him on the back and leading him in the direction of the backyard "Come on Sasuke, get your butt outside!"

Hinata watched the way Naruto approached Sasuke and pulled him along, her eyes locking with his for less than a second as Naruto pulled him out of her sight. She turned to look at Sakura who was still standing in the kitchen with a drink in her hand and staring at Hinata with sad eyes. "Sakura?" she questioned, moving closer to her, "What's wrong?"

Sakura pulled herself up onto the bench, her legs hanging over the cupboards beneath. "Are you interested in Sasuke, Hinata?" She mumbled sadly, her grip on the glass tightening a fraction, _because it's clear to me that he's interested in you..._

Hinata felt her chest tense up and her breathing catch in her throat.

"I thought so." Sakura said after the silence remained, taking a mouthful of her drink and reaching out to grab Hinata's hand softly. "Please Hinata…" she looked up at her, her emerald green eyes searching Hinata's face with a look of insecurity. "I love him... I love him so much." She whispered.

Hinata frowned as she looked into Sakura's sad eyes and felt the grip on her hand tightening. She could easily tell that Sakura was being very serious, and that she was putting her own heart out on the line. The pain within them made her ache inside for feeling the way she had been.

Opening her mouth to speak, Hinata found herself lost for words and closed her mouth, biting on her lower lip as she done so. She nodded slowly at Sakura, understanding what she wanted from her. Sakura had been kind to her, and had helped her out at work when she was confused or lost. Hinata didn't want to lose the potential friend she had in Sakura.

If Sakura wanted her to take a step back from perusing the answers to her curiosity and what exactly it was that intrigued her about Sasuke than she would, because that's what friends do.

"Thank you, Hinata." Sakura let out a deep breath that she had been unknowingly holding in, offering a small smile up at Hinata. She was thankful that Hinata was so kind, unlike her best friend Ino who hadn't been so kind to back off back in the day before she met her boyfriend Sai.

"Let's go introduce you to some people then." Sakura squeezed Hinata's hand, shaking her head and finishing of the drink in one shot before placing the glass upside down in the sink. Taking a moment to recollect herself and force the smile on her face to grow before pulling Hinata along behind her and outside.

The smell of cooking meat hit Hinata's nose, her ears perking up to the loudness of people talking and the sizzling of meat on the barbecue. Hinata's eyes travelled across the unknown faces as Sakura came to a stop.

"Everyone! This is Hinata!" Sakura let go of Hinata's hand, and gestured towards her for everyone to take in.

"Hinata?" came two surprised male voices in unison.

Looking through the crowd of people, Hinata spotted two men who seemed rather familiar to her. It was only when a large white dog came running at her that it all clicked in her mind. "Akamaru? Kiba? Shino?" he voice raised in happiness, her hands catching two big white paws on her chest of the dog that had just jumped up on her.

Hinata couldn't believe it! Her old friends from the school she went to many years ago before her move were friends with Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura? She definitely must be one very lucky lady! If it wasn't for Sasuke and Naruto, she probably never would have seen the two of them again.

Her smile continued to grow larger across her face as the two men wrapped their arms around her with the big white dog Akumaru between them.

Kiba was tall and had messy brown hair, his face easily recognizable with over-sized canine teeth and red fang shaped markings on his cheeks.

Even taller stood Shino, he had dark bushy brown hair, round black sunglasses and wore a dark greenish-grey hoodie.

"It's been so long! Hina!" Kiba said as he placed his hands on either side of her shoulders and took in the sight of her. "Look at your hair!"

Hinata blushed and laughed nervously, her hands moving to touch her long midnight blue locks that reached down to her hips. It was true, her hair had certainly grown. The last time she would have seen the two of them, her hair would have been a boy cut… Something her father had seen as practicable.

"Me? Look at Akamaru! I bet he can't fit in your jacket now." She laughed, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth as memories of him sneaking the small pup into school flooded her memory.

Overlooking all the commotion was Sasuke, listening to Kiba who was now laughing and touching Hinata so tenderly, he felt himself grow tense. _Really?_ He thought to himself, his eyes staring over Naruto's shoulder and at Hinata. _She's friends with dog boy and the weirdo?_

"Oh wow!" Naruto said as he began making his way over to the small group that had formed. "You guys know each other?"

"Know each other?" Kiba grinned, nudging Hinata, "Hina used to be my best friend back in the day, isn't that right Hina?"

Hinata nodded enthusiastically and looked at Naruto, "and Shino as well."

"Small world it seems." Shino added in.

"Well that's just awesome!" Naruto beamed, Kiba was a good friend of his so he was more than happy that Hinata was a mutual friend, it also meant that she would fit in much better with everyone. "We better introduce her to the rest of the group then!"

Hinata was feeling somewhat overwhelmed, but a lot less nervous than she was previously to coming here. She was worried earlier that she would be too shy or too quiet for the liking of their friends, or that she wouldn't fit in. Now however, she felt security being around Kiba and Shino. It also helped to keep her distracted from the dark charcoal eyes that she could sense on her the entire time she had been there. Hinata did want to speak to Sasuke, but she also wanted to make sure she had met everyone else first; it was the polite way to go about things. Especially since this was a day organized for her to meet new people.

Kiba and Naruto took Hinata around the group, introducing her to Choji and Shikamaru who were manning the barbecue, and over to the table where Sakura, Sasuke, Ino (a gorgeous girl who had long blond hair tied up into a ponytail) and Ino's pale-skinned, dark haired boyfriend Sai (who was drawing in a book of his) sat together.

Hinata found it extremely easy to socialize with the group of people; they were all so warm, open and welcoming to her.

As everyone gathered around the table, Hinata placed on the opposite side of Sasuke with Kiba and Shino on either side of her, and Sasuke with Naruto and Sakura on either side of himself. Also separating them was Shikamaru besides Naruto with Choji besides him on Kiba's other side, and Ino besides Sakura with Sai next to Shino.

Placed in the center of it all was food that was cooked to perfection, cutlery, plates and a variety of sauces and salads. Everyone began to dig in, with Kiba throwing a few pieces of steak in Akamaru's direction.

The meal continued on with loud conversation, with fun and laughter mixed between the stories that were being told and the new connections that were being made.

Everyone was seemingly enjoying themselves except for Sasuke who remained quiet, ate, and then stood up to head inside.

Sakura's eyes followed Sasuke. Sakura went to stand and follow but was stopped by Naruto's hand that placed on top of hers.

"I've got it." He reassured her, pulling himself up from his chair and following Sasuke.

Once making it inside, Naruto found Sasuke on the lounge pouring himself a drink.

"What're you doing Sasuke? Don't you want to join in?" he asked concerned, noting that Sasuke obviously seemed troubled about something.

Sasuke shook his head, looking up at Naruto.

Naruto took a seat in the armchair across from Sasuke, "is it Hinata? She told me that you stopped by last night and helped her with her work stuff on the way over here."

"Did she just?" Sasuke said sarcastically, taking a drink.

Naruto furrowed his brows, "Hinata's a nice girl Sasuke."

"I know." Sasuke said simply.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in Sasuke's direction; he wasn't expecting Sasuke to agree with him. A typical 'hn', a sarcastic remark or a 'she's annoying' statement was more of what he was expecting. "You like her, don't you?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto with an annoyed look, feeling himself tense up slightly. He didn't want to admit anything to this idiot. " **No.** " he lied with a stern tone.

A cheeky smirk crossed over Naruto's face, he could tell by the way Sasuke tensed and the tone that he used that he was annoyed about something, and Naruto's guess was that Sasuke was annoyed he had guessed it correctly. " **Ohh,** " his smirk turned into a large grin, "so you wouldn't mind if I go for her then? She's _really_ pretty and nice." Naruto said in a teasing manner.

Sasuke slammed his glass down onto the coffee table unexpectedly, a crack forming in the glass and Naruto jumping in his seat from being startled. " **No.** " Sasuke said more firmly this time, his eyes almost glaring daggers into Naruto " **Don't** even **think** about it."

"But you said you weren't interested?" Naruto pushed, wanting the stubborn jerk he called a best friend to suck up his pride and admit it.

Sasuke, not one to be defeated in a challenge stood his ground. His eyes remained cold and dark as they stayed positioned in Naruto's direction. He kept silent. He knew what Naruto wanted from him, and he would be damned if he gave him the satisfaction of answering.

Finally letting out a laugh and shaking his head, Naruto stood up from the arm chair and grabbed the now cracked glass out of Sasuke's death grip hand. "Fine then, you can stay in here and mope." He made his way to the kitchen, stopping to look over his shoulder and at Sasuke on the lounge who was still watching him with killer intent in his eyes. "I'm going to spend some more time with _Hina_ outside!"

Sasuke watched as Naruto disappeared out of his sight, his chest twisted from the way he had called Hinata 'Hina' and in such tone that he had as well. He knew Naruto was doing it to get at him, and he knew that Naruto could tell despite Sasuke saying otherwise.

It was something Sasuke both liked and hated about his best friend, he was always able to know and understand how Sasuke was feeling and what he was thinking, as well as guide him in the right direction. He found it his mission to try and do the opposite of what Naruto tried to have him do. Naruto knew all too well what Sasuke wanted though, so it was hard to defy him.

He sat there and groaned angrily for a few moments longer, deciding to act now before he let Naruto's words persuade him to get back up and join the group outside. _Damn you Naruto_ He thought as he pushed himself off the lounge and made his way to his bedroom.

Even though he wanted to spend some time with Hinata, he didn't want to feel angry and challenged by that blonde idiot in front of their friends and make a scene.

He decided it would be best to drown out all the loud noise and take a nap, at least when he wakes up there'd be a good chance that there won't be anyone in his house anymore. _If I'm lucky_ he thought as he dropped onto his bed and closed his eyes, _they'll all be gone._

 **-o-o-o-**

By the time everyone had left, it was very late at night. Hinata had decided that she would be the last to leave due to it being an occasion set up for her. It would be rude for her to leave any sooner than anyone else.

Ino and Sai had been the first to leave, followed shortly by Choji, Shino and Sakura (who was no longer interested in staying too long with Sasuke asleep). Shikamaru stayed long enough to help carry Naruto (who had passed out into a food coma from eating more than he could handle) into his room and into bed with Kiba. After they had done that, Kiba passed Hinata his contact details with the promise of catching up and Shikamaru and himself were on their way out.

Finally, it was just Hinata left, but she wouldn't be able to leave unless she knew the place was clean and stress free for the two men when they woke up in the morning.

Remembering from the time she grabbed the first aid kit for Sasuke, Hinata made her way over to the kitchen cupboard underneath the sink, pulling out a bin bag, dishwashing liquid, cleaning spray and a cloth.

Placing the dishwashing liquid on the sink, she made her way out the back door with the rest of the products in hand, cleaning up the rubbish from their feast and wiping down the table with the spray and cloth… She would clean the barbecue too if she knew how, but she wasn't sure and didn't want to risk ruining it, so just shut the lid and went back inside with the dishes that were left on the table out the back.

Turning on the hot water tap and squirting in the dish soap, she watched as the sink began to fill up, making some of the cups in the hot water float to the top and fill with suds.

She smiled as she washed the dishes for the guys, placing them on the drying rack besides the sink. Hinata always enjoyed cleaning up, she found it rather therapeutic, but it was also tiring.

By the time Hinata had finally finished, she found herself yawning as she dried her hands on a blue tea towel.

 _I don't think I can walk all the way to the hotel this tired_ Hinata found herself thinking as she walked into the lounge room and sat on the lounge, easing into the comfort of it quickly, her eye lids and her body feeling heavy and weak. _I'm sure they won't mind if I just take a quick power nap…_ And with that, Hinata quickly fell asleep, not realizing that someone was watching her.

Sasuke had been woken up by the sound of a draining sink. He always hated the way that they seemed to slurp and squeal as the water rushed down the drain.

He hadn't bothered to look at the time as he pulled himself out of bed and towards the kitchen. Sasuke would be very surprised if he found Naruto in there cleaning the dishes for once in his lifetime.

Upon realizing that it was very dark and very quiet, Sasuke was grateful that obviously everyone had managed to leave in the time he had slept, everyone but one person.

The tinge of midnight blue caught his eyes in the dark, and he watched as she stumbled her way through the doorway and into the lounge room. Hinata hadn't seemed to notice his presence.

Sasuke was about to speak up, thinking she was going to leave the house and head home, but found himself surprised as she dropped onto the lounge and fell asleep very quickly.

 _She must be pretty tired - no surprise if she cleaned up_ Sasuke thought as he moved further into the lounge room and looked down at her. He took in the sight of her dark blue hair sprawled out on the lounge, and her thick black lashes standing out against her pale skin.

He thought about draping a blanket over her so she would be warm, but ultimately decided to one up it instead, "Hinata?" He whispered, trying to find out how deeply she was asleep.

Upon noticing that she didn't even stir, Sasuke carefully moved to scoop her up in his arms. Hinata was a lot lighter than he had expected her to be, especially being a dead weight whilst asleep.

He moved slowly, and quietly, carrying the slumbering girl into his room and onto his bed.

Sasuke pulled his covers up and over her, and watched as a smile crossed her gentle face and her arms embraced the warmth of his blankets, pulling them in close to her and burying her head into his feathered pillows.

Sasuke looked down at her, and caught himself with a smile on his own face. He gingerly moved his hand closer to her face to push her hair back and behind her ear.

"Sleep well, Hinata." Sasuke whispered before leaving the room. He could continue his sleep on the lounge. He wouldn't want to sleep in his own room with her in there… It would freak her out if she woke up beside him in the morning. Especially in his bed.

No, there was no way he was going to risk freaking her out any more than she already would be.

* * *

 **more to come in due time!**

In fact, being a long weekend it might be sooner than you think!


	5. Heart Ache Multiplied

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

 _-thoughts-_

* * *

 **HEART ACHE MULTIPLIED**

* * *

Twisting and turning, Hinata moved her arm so the back of her wrist covered her eyes to block out the sunlight that was beaming in through a gap between the curtain of the window, ultimately stirring her awake from her slumber.

With a groan she pulled the blanket up over her head and rolled around to bury her face into the pillow, a pillow that had a scent so fresh, earthy and evocative that it reminded her of rain after a drought.

She breathed it in deeply, allowing her senses to relax into the warmth and comfort that it provide her.

Hinata's legs glided smoothly over the soft silk sheets as she pulled them up closer to her chest and into a more comfortable fetal position.

Then it hit her - _Silky sheets?_ The hotel didn't have silk sheets.

Hinata's eyes quickly opened as she moved into a sitting position, her eyes darting around the unfamiliar surroundings.

Confused and a little concerned, Hinata looked for any clues as to where she was as the last thing she remembered was cleaning up for Sasuke and Naruto.

 _Where am I?_ Hinata thought as she looked down at the black bedding and the very organized, quaint room, a face down photo frame on the bedside table catching her attention.

Scooting over to the other side of the bed, she reached out and hesitantly grabbed the frame, turning it over to look at it.

 _Sasuke…_ Hinata's fingers moved over the image of a young boy who she could recognize as a child version of Sasuke. Besides Sasuke she noticed a boy with similar features, however he was a little older and had pronounced tear-troughs – a brother, perhaps.

Not wanting to pry any further than she felt she was… Hinata placed the frame back on the bedside table whilst respecting Sasuke's decision to have it placed face down.

Hinata moved off the bed and began making it, smoothing the sheets and blanket over with her hands to ensure that there would be no wrinkles in the fabric.

As she reached the door to make her way out of Sasuke's bedroom, she stopped to comb her fingers through her messy bed head to untangle the loose knots that had formed in her sleep, also taking a moment to look herself over to make sure she looked reasonably presentable. (A habit she had developed when she was younger, as her father was a very successful business man and would generally have important people around the house)

Twisting the door knob slowly, she opened the door enough to poke her head out and look around before she made her way into the hallway. Hinata didn't know this area of their house, and found herself lost on which direction to go in to make it back to the kitchen or lounge room.

With only one door way open out of the many closed doors, she figured that would be her best bet and made her way towards it.

 _Success!_ Hinata's inner self cheered as she found herself in the familiar surroundings of the kitchen.

"I see you're awake." Sasuke said as he walked through the other entrance into the kitchen, he had heard the pitter patter of feet and decided to investigate.

Hinata jumped, startled by Sasuke's silent approach. "Sasuke!" she huffed, her hand moving to cross over her heart from the small fright he had given her.

Sasuke smirked to himself, "sleep well?" he asked as he leaned against the counter.

A warm sensation spread across Hinata's cheeks as she blushed at the idea of her sleeping in Sasuke's silky sheets. She averted her eyes away from him and down at her hands in her lap "Yes," she paused, pulling out a chair to the kitchen table and taking a seat "u-um how did I end up there?"

"You were passed out on the couch when I woke up" Sasuke said, taking the chance to look her casually up and down as she avoided eye contact, "I was wide awake, and you looked cold so I let you have my bed" he watched as her face turned a shade darker, "Don't worry, we didn't share the bed."

Hinata felt childish for blushing at such an idea, but she couldn't help herself. "Sorry… And thank you."

Brushing off her thanks, Sasuke grabbed the kettle from the bench top and filled it with water from the tap. "You don't have to say thank you all the time." He said as he placed the kettle on the stove, igniting the plate and heating the water.

Having seen Hinata drinking green tea before, he moved over to his pantry and searched through it. He was fairly certain that they had green tea in there somewhere since… _since Itachi used to drink it all the time_ Sasuke's hands brushed against the box of matcha green tea powder that had been hiding behind many other things, having been shoved back and left forgotten.

He hesitated for only a moment's time before pulling it out and shutting the pantry.

 _Itachi would have liked Hinata_ he thought to himself as he took the steaming kettle off of the stove top.

"Tha-" Hinata caught herself mid word as Sasuke placed the hot beverage in front of her, remembering that he had told her that she didn't need to thank him so much, she held her tongue before noticing that Sasuke was smiling down at her. Hinata decided to return the smile and simply nod as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

Having made a green tea for himself as well, Sasuke took a seat across from Hinata and stared down into the steaming green liquid.

"Is Naruto home?" Hinata asked, breaking the silence.

 _Always with Naruto_ Sasuke nodded, "He usually won't get out of bed until midday."

Hinata laughed softly, "I wish I could sleep that long."

"You can always jump back into my bed." Sasuke said as one corner of his mouth edged up into a smirk, "I won't mind if you need a little extra sleep."

"I-" Hinata looked at him, her eyes wide and bright and nervous.

"I'm only teasing you." Sasuke reassured her. He thoroughly enjoyed the way she reacted to things.

Watching her relax once more, Sasuke found himself in a position that he hadn't found himself in before. His mind was going crazy with thoughts, and before he could even think it through the words slipped out of his mouth and landed on her ears, "We should go out some time."

Hinata blinked a few times as if she was trying to remember or decipher what he had just said. "Are you teasing me again, Sasuke?" she said in a tone just above a whisper, her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing becoming noticeably uneven as it caught in her throat.

"No," Sasuke looked at her with genuine eyes "I would like to take you out."

Hinata's hands fumbled with the cup, spilling some of its contents as she stood up and tipped the remaining liquid down the sink and pulled her jacket in closer to her body, "I-" she looked at him, her heart wanting to scream yes, but her mind telling her to say no, "I've got to go!" she pulled her eyes away from his and made a bee line for the front of the house. _Sakura! Think of Sakura!_

Sasuke, completely dumbfound watched as she panicked and made a run for it, almost letting her get away before his senses came back to him and he got up and went after her. Hinata was just about out the front door when he grasped her forearm softly to stop her in her tracks, "Hinata, why are you running away?"

Avoiding all eye contact, Hinata stared down at her feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world. She knew that if she looked up that she would get lost in the depth of his eyes and break her promise to Sakura, as well as break Sakura's heart. Hinata didn't want to hurt her new friend, and she certainly didn't want to damage the friendship that Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura had. "Sasuke…" she whispered, pulling her arm out of his grasp and wrapping her arms around herself – closing herself off. "I can't."

"You can't?" Sasuke questioned her, "Or you won't?"

"Does it make any difference?" Hinata took a step backwards.

 _It makes a big difference_ Sasuke thought to himself,"At least tell me why not?"

Hinata bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head, "I just… I can't. I'm sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke stood dumbfound once more as he watched Hinata disappear out through the doorway and out of sight, he had never seen her move so quickly and so determined… And she was doing it to get away from him.

 _She can't even give me a reason why?_ Sasuke slammed the front door shut, _you absolute idiot Sasuke, she's definitely interested in Naruto._

 **-o-o-o-**

Hinata didn't even know where she was going, she just knew that she had to get out of there and she had to get out of there quickly.

In a blind moment of confusion, panic and hurt – Hinata found herself inside her café and leaning against the back entrance that she had just came through.

She moved her hands to cup her face and slid her back down the door and into a sitting position on the floor, focusing on trying to catch her breath and calm herself down before any of the staff working today could catch her in such a distraught position.

But it was too late, as Sakura had heard the back door open as she was grabbing a bag of coffee beans from the back room. "Hinata?" she questioned as she found the girl sitting on the floor, looking drained of color and bewildered. "Are you okay Hinata?" Sakura kneeled down in front of her.

"Let me take your shift." Hinata said suddenly, moving her hands into her lap as she calmed her breathing. "I-I really need a distraction and it won't come out of your pay!"

Confused, Sakura stood up and offered the blue haired girl a hand in getting up off of the floor. "Uh, is there anything you want to talk about?"

Hinata shook her head profusely, "No. Please Sakura. I just, I need this."

Sakura reached behind her back and untied the red apron before handing it to Hinata, "are you sure you don't want to talk?"

Tying the apron around herself quickly she shook her head once more, "I'm fine… you're right to go home and enjoy the rest of your weekend." She forced a smile, but still felt herself tearing up inside. She had only known Sasuke for a week… But he had managed to grab a hold of her in a way she couldn't explain.

Thinking that this might have had something to do with a personal matter (such as Neji) Sakura didn't want to pry too much into Hinata's request. It would be rude of her to do so. "Alrighty then… Thanks Hinata." Sakura said with a small smile and a soft tone, heading out the back door that Hinata had come through.

Sakura couldn't help but feel sad; Hinata was this lovely and polite girl, and Sakura had taken advantage of her for her own selfish reasons. She wished that she was able to push them aside, but it was a lot easier said than done.

Relieved to be able to throw her mind into something else, Hinata headed out to the front of the café and began to ask customers who were sitting down and enjoying the morning if they would like a free cup of coffee – at least filling her head with orders and work would distract her long enough today.

 **-o-o-o-**

By mid-afternoon, Sasuke had managed to waste the day away by laying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling – wondering just what it was about Naruto that had Hinata so interested?

Of course he knew that Naruto was a great guy with good morals, loyalty and determination – but Sasuke refused to accept any of that. No, he was blinded by jealousy. Something that was completely new to him, and he wasn't sure how to make it go away. He hated to feel this way, he felt inferior and stupid for clinging on to a woman that he didn't even know all that well.

But he had connected with her, hadn't he? They had always gotten along well and sat in a comfortable silence unless there was something of value to speak on. Or was he wrong? Was it all in his head?

Whatever it was, Sasuke hated it… But Hinata still lingered in his mind, especially since he could still smell her lavender scent on his pillows despite having flipped them over.

Lost in his thoughts (or perhaps his obsession), Sasuke hadn't even heard the door to his bedroom open and a voice calling out to him.

"Hello, Earth to Sasuke?" Sakura walked over and waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him from his trance. "What are you doing, and do you know where Naruto is?"

"What is it with everyone and Naruto all of a sudden?" Sasuke growled, moving to sit up.

With a raise of her eyebrow, Sakura looked down at him confused, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke looked away from her and out of his bedroom window. "Nothing." He grumbled.

Feeling something click in her head, Sakura moved to sit beside Sasuke on the edge of his bed. "Does this have something to do with Hinata?"

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed, ignoring her question.

"You know… I've seen the way you look at her." Sakura mumbled, she looked down at her hands and wished that she could let go of Sasuke… But she couldn't, she wasn't ready to.

Sasuke pushed himself up off of the bed and walked over to the window he was staring out of earlier, avoiding Sakura once more.

"So Naruto? Hey?" Sakura chewed on her lower lip, her mind thinking one thing, but her voice saying another. Sakura felt terrible for playing along with the Naruto story, she didn't want to – but her voice acted against her wishes. It was at times like these that she wished that Hinata was like Ino, and was on an even playing field… But Hinata wasn't like Ino; she wasn't brutal, and challenging. No, Hinata was kind, loyal and kept her word. Sakura would need to build up her strength before she could let go of Sasuke.

"Why do you care anyway?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked at Sasuke's back that was facing her as he stood in front of the window. She was always behind Sasuke… and Naruto. They were all close, but she always felt like she was one step behind and slightly out of the picture. "You know why." She whispered.

Sasuke said nothing, he did know why. Sakura had had a crush on him since they were in primary school, but he had thought that perhaps after all this time she would have grown out of it. When they were younger, Sasuke used to wish that he could return her feelings – but it simply wasn't there… As they got older and reached high school, she had become a little too attached and insistent, which also in turn turned him off and made him see her as somewhat annoying.

Would it be this way for Sasuke? Would he be stuck in the same boat as Sakura – having feelings for someone who didn't feel the same for the rest of his life? Surely that wouldn't be the case, would it?

Sakura gulped and closed her eyes, trying so hard to build in herself what she so wished to have. She cared so greatly for Sasuke and Naruto, and she wanted them to be happy… and for Sasuke, she wanted to make the sacrifice… but all she could manage for now was a few simple words. "Talk to her."

"Don't you think I've done that?" Sasuke said annoyed.

Holding back the pain in her heart and the tears in her eyes, Sakura stood up and made her way to the door of his bedroom, not turning back to look at him. "Just do it Sasuke, even if she doesn't want to."

 _I've got to go talk to Hinata_ Sakura thought to herself as she left Sasuke's room, and since Naruto wasn't there to help her out with something she was originally over there to ask for, she decided that she would leave the house and call Hinata on her way home.

 **-o-o-o-**

Having waited until she reached her own house, Sakura pulled out her phone and took a deep breath. She scrolled through the contacts in her phone before her thumb landed on Hinata's name.

 _Here goes nothing…_ She thought to herself as she tapped the number and the phone began to dial.

With every ring, Sakura found it harder to breath.

"Hello Hinata speaking" a soft voice came through the ear piece of the phone.

A silence fell as Sakura pulled herself together, "Hinata, its Sakura… Look, about last night"

"Last night? What about last night?" Hinata sounded a little panicked.

"Just forget what I said okay? About Sasuke…" Sakura felt her own heart breaking, and tried her best to keep her voice steady and calm.

Deep breathing was heard through the phone before Hinata spoke again, "But Sakura, you love him. I can't forget that."

The tears had begun to make a path down Sakura's face, and even though it was only a phone call, Sakura shook her head and forced a smile. "I just want him to be happy…"

"Sakura…" Hinata's heartfelt voice reached through the speaker.

"Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be alright… I… I had my chance and it didn't happen." Sakura said slowly, trying more so to convince herself rather than Hinata now. "Just… treat him right, okay?" not wanting to have the conversation any longer, Sakura hung up the phone and threw it across her room, plopping herself face first into her pillow, she let the full force of her broken heart hit her.

It was going to be a long, painful road from here.

* * *

 **more to come in due time.**


End file.
